Emrys - Part One
by manicobsessive1988
Summary: Haunted by the words of the Cailleach, Morgana is determined to find and destroy the mysterious Emrys, but when she kidnaps a young Druid woman, could she have sealed her fate?
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Notes: Hey guys. :-) I began this story a little while ago and got no further than posting the first chapter. Now I have decided to continue, and this is a rewritten version of the chapter I posted before. This is either going to become a two parter or a trilogy depending on how things go. It picks up straight after the season four two part opener. Sadly, I don't own Merlin. I hope you enjoy!**

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On horseback, a hooded figure journeyed alone through a vast stretch of woodland. It had been a long day, broken only by semi-regular short breaks to rest her horse and take a drink. She should have felt tired, but adrenaline was fuelling her. There wasn't much daylight left now, and sleep was the last thing on her mind. She was determined to get there by nightfall, otherwise she would have to set up camp and waste precious time.

It didn't take long for her to realise however, that that wasn't going to be the case. A thin layer of smoke curled upwards above the trees, guiding her to her prize. The Druid camp.

Her heart gave a nervous leap. She so desperately wanted answers, but once she got them, was she going to regret that she had ever asked? 'The one they call Emrys will walk in your shadow. He is your destiny, and he is your doom.' Those words had deeply unnerved her. What had the Cailleach foreseen?

She hoped that the recurring dream that had been haunting her since her encounter with the gatekeeper was the product of a troubled mind and not of her power as a Seer. In the dream, she lay among the devastation of a battlefield, mortally wounded. The only figure seemingly left alive, an impossibly elderly man dressed in dark red robes and holding a staff, stood over her. There was a mixture of sorrow and anger in the wrinkled, bearded face. With the little that remained of her strength, she reached out to him and rasped: 'Emrys..help me..Emrys.' He gazed down at her. 'Is this really what you wanted Morgana?' He asked. With that, she would wake in a cold sweat. Even in her waking hours, she couldn't escape the cold fear that she felt whenever she stopped long enough to let it come to the front of her thoughts. Hopefully after today, the nightmare wouldn't return.

As she reached the edge of the clearing, Morgana dismounted and lowered her hood. Some of the Druids had noticed her arrival and watched her warily as she approached. A young man and woman in the group moved closer to one another, arms almost touching. The unease in every face was mirrored in their own.

"Morgana Pendragon," the Druid leader addressed her calmly. "To what do we owe the pleasure?" He smiled faintly.

"I need information," Morgana explained. "Information I believe the Druids can give me." She briefly waited for a response, and when none came she elaborated: "I need you to tell me what you know of the sorcerer Emrys. Your people have shown me great kindness in the past, and I shall be sure you are rewarded."

The Druid leader regarded her for a few seconds before he spoke. "I'm afraid you have had a wasted journey."

At this, the young couple moved, if it was possible, even closer together, sensing, like the rest of the Druids, that this situation was becoming dangerous. Indeed, Morgana's expression had hardened, and when she next spoke, her voice was cold.

"What are you talking about? You're telling you don't know of whom I speak?"

"You misunderstand." He answered. "We know why you have come to us, and to take this course of action would be a fatal mistake."

"That's for me to decide." She retorted.

"I'm sorry, Morgana, but we cannot help."

She glared at him, her otherwise pretty face full of fury and hatred. " Can't, or won't?"

"There is nothing for you here. Now please leave us."

A red hot anger was slowly taking hold of Morgana. So now even her own kind were turning their backs on her? Uther had hunted them down like animals, condemning them for the gifts they were born with. She had thought that they understood her, that they were bonded by a shared suffering. After all, they were the ones who had helped her embrace who she was. Clearly she had been wrong. Somehow she managed to keep her voice even.

"I'll give you one more chance." She said softly. "Tell me where Emrys is, and I can assure you your loyalty will not be forgotten."

" We will tell you nothing, Morgana."

She stared at him for a long moment, her jaw set. "We shall see."

The Druid leader stood his ground, meeting her gaze while the rest of the Druids watched this exchange in silence.

With a small smirk, Morgana slowly turned and began to walk back to her horse, all eyes still on her as she climbed astride it. She sat with her back to them, unmoving, before she pulled on the reins and the steed began to move. But it didn't move in the direction it had come. It careened back towards the clearing, hoof beats pounding loudly against the ground. She was attacking.

"Run!"

The group began to scatter, but Morgana was too fast. Her eyes flashed gold as she used her power to blast as many of them as she could off of their feet, knocking some of them out cold. Then, slowing the horse down, she reached out to grab the arm of the nearest Druid still on her feet. Morgana's eyes again flashed gold, and her victim's legs gave out from under her as she succumbed to the enchantment. Morgana then pulled the horse to a stop.

Noticing that their friend was in danger, some of the group came forward in an attempt to help, but again Morgana simply flung them away as if they were rag dolls.

Those that hadn't managed to escape, now lay unconscious around her as she climbed down and began to busy herself with the unfortunate young Druid woman.

One of the figures on the ground began to stir. The young man lifted his head. Still dazed and confused he tried to focus. There was Morgana, leaning over a young woman. He caught a glimpse of blond hair, a familiar emerald hair pin, the one he had given her, slightly hidden in the curls. All of a sudden he was fully alert.

"Helena!"

At the sound of the voice, Morgana turned her head. The last thing he saw was the golden glow of the witch's eyes. His world seemed to shrink into them, and then they too vanished completely as he blacked out for the second time.


	2. Chapter 2

**16/5/2017 Hey guys! I just wanted to put a quick update here to let you know that I haven't forgotten about this story. Working full time sucks! I will be back with chapter three as soon as possible. Thanks so much for following my story! :-)**

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Merlin put his head around the door of Arthur's chambers. As he'd expected, the Prince was still dead to the world. He stood there for a moment considering his options. If he didn't have Arthur's clothes organised and armour polished in time for his training session later that morning, he knew there would be trouble. All the same, if he woke him early, Arthur was liable to throw things in his general direction.

Coming to a decision, Merlin slipped inside and carefully made his way across the room to the wooden stand on which Arthur's armour was displayed. He kept his eye on the sleeping figure in the bed as he went, anxious not to disturb him. In his concern, Merlin narrowly avoided tripping over Arthur's boots at the foot of the bed, and he breathed a tiny sigh of relief, smiling proudly to himself for preventing the mishap.

He slowly began to remove the armour piece by piece, eventually balancing the tottering pile under his chin. Then, he shuffled around to make his way back to the door, glancing over at his friend who was now snoring loudly. As he did so, the helmet on top of the pile began to slowly slide sideways. ' _No, no, no!'_ This wasn't going to happen now he'd got this far. With a quick incantation under his breath, the helmet rebalanced. He had to get out of here.

Merlin paced silently back towards freedom. Five Steps, ten steps, he was almost there, but then...something was under his foot, his stomach lurched, he stumbled and...CRASH! The sound was deafening as Merlin and the armour tumbled to the ground. Those damned shoes!

Arthur jerked awake, instinctively snatching his sword from his bedside and flinging himself out of the bed. It would have been impressive had he not promptly tangled the bedsheets around his legs and also thrown himself to the floor with a painful sounding thud. Merlin remained on the floor as Arthur recovered himself, as though if he stayed still he somehow wouldn't be spotted.

'Merlin!' Arthur exclaimed. _Oh_.

Merlin got to his feet, looking sheepish. 'Morning.'

'What the hell are you doing?' Arthur demanded.

'Sorry, er, I needed to fetch your armour and...the boots...' He gestured to them. Arthur just stared at him silently. Merlin got to his feet and began to gather up the armour.

'You just...go back to sleep.' He whispered. 'I wasn't here.'

With the armour safely back under his chin he headed back towards the door, ducking out just in time to hear whatever it was that Arthur had thrown at him bounce off of the wall with a resounding clatter. Well he supposed, that could have been worse.

xxxxxx

' _Emrys!_ '

Merlin jumped in surprise, Arthur's things cascading out of his arms for the second time that morning, with a loud crash onto the stone floor. The voice could have been inches from his ear, and even though he'd experienced telepathy before, he still instinctively whirled around to look backwards down the corridor.

' _I need you Emrys._ ' The voice in his head spoke again. It sounded distressed, desperate.

Merlin tried to steady his breathing, his heartbeat slowly returning to a normal speed. ' _Who are you?_ ' He asked wordlessly.

' _My name is Blake,_ ' came the reply. ' _I'm a Druid, we need your help._ '

Could this be a trick? Merlin was wary. He knew that Morgana also knew the name Emrys now. Could she have discovered it was him, and set a trap?

'Please, _Emrys_.' Blake pleaded. ' _I'm in the woods on the edge of the Lower town. Meet me there after sunset._ '

'Merlin?' A physical voice he recognised interrupted his conversation. Gwen had rounded the corner, and was looking at him with concern. 'Gwen! Er…' He bent down and began hurriedly retrieving the King's armour.

'Everything all right?' She asked with a good natured, yet curious smile.

'Yeah, fine, just...y'know...heavy.' He gave her what he hoped was a genuine, casual smile.

Gwen had bent down to help and was giving the weaponry a once over. 'It all looks okay. This stuff isn't easily damaged.'

She transferred the things she'd picked up into Merlin's arms as they straightened. 'Thanks.' Merlin smiled, and made to walk away, but had only moved a couple of steps when Gwen spoke again.

'Are you sure you're all right?' You look like something's troubling you.'

Merlin pretended to contemplate, and then shook his head. 'I work for Arthur. What could possibly be troubling me?' He grinned, and Gwen gave a small laugh. Then with a parting smile, Merlin hurried off down the corridor.

xxxxxx

'I am in your debt, my Lord.' Morgana told her dining partner, a middle aged man sitting across the table.

On kidnapping the Druid, Morgana had headed for the kingdom of Yeramar **.** She had heard the tales of the kingdom from Uther, and had known exactly where to come. King Doran had welcomed her, and they were now sharing a meal in the castle's banquet hall.

'When Camelot is yours and Uther has what he deserves, that debt will be paid with interest.' His smile held more admiration than any real warmth, much like the smile she gave in return.

'I still have Emrys to deal with before that time comes,' She reminded him. 'but I trust I can rely on your allegiance until then?'

'Of Course.' He raised his goblet to her and then took a sip. 'About Emrys, you haven't properly explained.' He pointed out. 'Who is he?'

The smile faded from Morgana's face. She was silent for a few long moments before answering. 'I was warned about him.' She told the King. 'He has already thwarted my plans once and I'm going to make sure he cannot do so again.'

Doran raised his eyebrows. 'From what I've heard, he must possess great magic to be a match for your power.'

'That's why I need to find him before he finds me,' She informed him. 'and our little friend down in your dungeons should be a great help.'

'What makes you think she knows where he is?' Doran enquired, interested, putting a grape into his mouth.

'She's a Druid. I've learned that Emrys is legendary within their circles.' Morgana explained. 'Trust me, she knows.'

'She won't tell you willingly.'

Morgana's cold smile returned. 'Oh don't worry about that.' She assured him. 'I have ways of making people open up.'


End file.
